Canterbury looks set to remain one of the most enjoyable regions
of New Zealand to visit if the experience of Taiwanese travel
seller Kevin Chou is anything to go by.
The Joyee Tour vice general manager visited Canterbury last week
as part of a Tourism New Zealand familiarisation tour for
product managers from Taiwan. The week-long visit took seven product
managers from Auckland to Queenstown and was the first to
incorporate Canterbury since the February 22 earthquake in
Christchurch city and Lyttelton.
Mr Chou said he enjoyed his New Zealand visit and would rate
some of his Canterbury experiences among its highlights. Hanmer
Springs, in particularly, stood out because of its wide array of
outdoor activities and restaurants and its "revitalising" hot
pools.
"People in Canterbury were extremely friendly to us. They were
very hospitable even though they are quite busy now. Except for the
CBD of Christchurch, all businesses in Canterbury are running well
and open to tourists."
Other South Island locations were also particularly appealing,
including Lake Tekapo and the nearby Mount John Observatory, he
said.
"It's impossible to be immersed in the adventure of glaciers or
canyons in Taiwan. There are hundreds of adventure [activities]
covered in New Zealand, such as skiing, jet boating, rafting, bungy
jumping, mountain biking, skateboarding, tramping and fly
fishing."
Tourism New Zealand regularly organises
familiarisation tours for key travel sellers in overseas
markets as part of its Familiarisation
Programme. The visits allow travel sellers to experience New
Zealand for themselves so they are well informed when it comes to
selling travel packages to consumers in their home markets.